Governor’s race: Cordray will announce soon; DeWine, Husted team up

Thursday

Nov 30, 2017 at 11:45 AMNov 30, 2017 at 11:45 AM

By Randy LudlowGateHouse Ohio Media

The race to become Ohio’s next governor was turned on its head on Wednesday.

Former Ohio attorney general and treasurer Richard Cordray, who resigned last week as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, will announce no later than next week that he will seek the Democratic nomination for governor, multiple sources told The Dispatch.

And, riding polling portraying them as the top contenders for the Republican nomination for governor, Attorney General Mike DeWine and Secretary of State Jon Husted are teaming up as a ticket in a powerhouse move consolidating their support.

The DeWine-Husted ticket features the GOP patriarch in the top slot, with Husted taking the No. 2 as lieutenant governor candidate — a launching spot for a potential run for governor if they win.

The announcement of the formation of the ticket will come on Thursday at events in Dayton and Columbus, a source with knowledge of the agreement told The Dispatch on Wednesday evening.

Cordray’s widely expected announcement of a gubernatorial run was confirmed by three Democratic sources who said they had spoken with the Grove City resident about his bid.

Other sources also said that Cordray was expected to announce his run next week. He lost his bid for re-election as attorney general to DeWine by about 1 percent of the vote in 2010.

Cordray starts out behind in the campaigning and fundraising categories, but easily is the best-known name among the Democratic candidates with three runs, two successful, for statewide office. He can potentially call on allies like former President Barack Obama and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, to help raise campaign cash.

DeWine and Husted are forming their team well ahead of the Feb. 7 filing deadline for statewide executive office.

The unifying move by DeWine and Husted sidesteps campaigning against and criticizing each other, and preserving their campaign cash, while the trailing Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor and U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci dig for support with Republican voters in the May primary.

Shortly after 7 p.m. Wednesday, a DeWine campaign email invited supporters to attend a "special announcement" at noon in Dayton and 2:30 p.m. in Columbus at the Columbus Idea Foundry on West State Street.

The pairing brings together both experience and youth.

DeWine, 70, also is a former U.S. senator, lieutenant governor and congressman. Husted, 50, is the former speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives.

DeWine is seen as the closest thing in the race to an establishment Republican while Husted stressed his conservative credentials. Renacci, in particular, and Taylor have aligned themselves with Republican President Donald Trump, who carried Ohio by about 8 percentage points last year.

Both men also were performing well in the campaign fundraising department, each with more than $4 million on hand at mid-year. Renacci also had more than $4 million thanks to a personal loan of that amount to his campaign. DeWine loaned his campaign $1 million.

DeWine’s media spokesman declined to comment and Husted’s spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.

The DeWine-Husted ticket lacks geographic, gender and racial diversity. Both are white men from the Dayton area — DeWine is from Cedarville and Husted is from Kettering.

Renacci campaign spokesman James Slepian said the DeWine-Husted ticket unifies officeholders with more than 60 years as elected politicians.

"As we’ve said for months, this race will come down to a clear choice between liberal Columbus career politicians and a conservative Columbus outsider, Jim Renacci, who will break up the establishment status quo and put Ohio first," Slepian said.

While Sutton largely bit her tongue and O’Neill said he would drop out of the race if Cordray runs, the other three Democratic candidates were critical of Cordray stepping aside from the consumer protection bureau, allowing Republican President Donald Trump to potentially derail part of its mission.

Taylor and Renacci have made no announcements regarding potential running mates. Nor have any of the Democratic gubernatorial candidates.

Randy Ludlow is a reporter for the Columbus Dispatch. Dispatch reporters Jack Torry and Jessica Wehrman contributed to this story.

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